Tom Brady added a seventh Super Bowl title to his hall of fame resume with a win in Super Bowl LV Sunday night in Tampa Bay. (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
Instant takeaways from Super Bowl 55 …
1. Tommy Legend: It’s Tom Brady’s world and even Patrick Mahomes has to live in it a while longer. The GOAT schooled the Kid, who had a baa-a-a-a-a-ad game for the first time in his young career. Brady tossed three touchdowns in the first half and cruised to his seventh Super Bowl championship in 10 appearances. In leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 31-9 trouncing of the error-prone Kansas City Chiefs, Brady matched Peyton Manning as the only quarterbacks to win Super Bowls with two teams. He left the comfort zone of the New England Patriots after 19 years and turned the Bucs into champions overnight despite the obstacles posed by the pandemic. Brady also matched Browns great Otto Graham’s unofficial record of seven league championships (four in the All-America Football Conference). The loss prevented the Chiefs from repeating as Super Bowl champs and made Brady, 43, and coach Bruce Arians, 68, the oldest Super Bowl winners. In capturing his fifth Super Bowl MVP award, Brady was 21 of 29 for 201 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Two of his scoring passes were to former Patriots teammate Rob Gronkowski, 31. Truly this was a Super Bowl for the aged.
2. Aging like fine wine: Brady has now defeated six different teams in the Super Bowl and the margins of victory have increased over time. In chronological order, Brady beat the St. Louis Rams by 3, the Panthers by 3, the Eagles by 3, the Seahawks by 4, the Falcons by 6, the Los Angeles Rams by 10 and now the Chiefs by 22. En route to his seventh Super Bowl title, Brady defeated Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers and Mahomes.
3. He’ll be back: A widening deficit and the Chiefs’ decimated offensive line conspired to make Mahomes, 25, look mortal for the first time. He ran for his life in the second half on that sprained left big toe injured in the divisional playoff game against the Browns. Mahomes (26 of 49, 270 yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions, 52.3 passer rating) did not exceed 100 yards passing until late in the third quarter. He didn’t complete a pass on third down until the fourth quarter. The 22-point loss was the worst in Mahomes’ career of 54 games, including post-season. Mahomes’ previous worst loss was by 8 points. An interception by linebacker Devin White at the goal line after the two-minute warning kept the Chiefs from scoring a touchdown for the first time in a game with Mahomes at quarterback.
4. Scratch that TNF lid-lifter: By losing, the Chiefs most likely lost the right to host the traditional Thursday night opener of the 2021 NFL season. The Browns would have been a possible opponent because they play at Kansas City next year. Tampa Bay’s out-of-division home opponents are Buffalo, Miami, Dallas, the Giants and Chicago.
5. Hail to the chumps: The Chiefs had a horrible first half, totaling 124 yards offense and 95 yards in penalties. Mahomes was 9 of 19 for 67 yards and Tyreek Hill had 2 catches for 13 yards. The Chiefs had two shanked punts, six defensive penalties and an offsides call on a fourth-and-5 field goal that ultimately traded a Tampa field goal for a touchdown. Also, a Tyrann Mathieu interception was wiped out by a defensive holding call. In the final 1:01, pass interference penalties by Bashaud Breeland and Mathieu helped Brady post a killer TD, a 1-yard dart to Antonio Brown, for a 21-6 Bucs lead at halftime. Mathieu’s frustration resulted in a taunting call after the TD.
6. Thump thump: What a stick at the goal line by Chiefs linebacker Damien Wilson on running back Ronnie Jones on a fourth-down carry from the 1 in the second quarter. The play saved the Chiefs from falling behind by at least 13-3 with 10:55 to play in the first half. Bucs coach Bruce Arians wasted a timeout challenging the spot. It wasn’t close. The Chiefs couldn’t move the ball, however, and punter Tommy Townsend shanked a 29-yard punt after a 56-yard boomer was nullified by a penalty. Brady then took over at the Chiefs’ 38. The Chiefs lost 32 yards in that sequence.
7. Slow starter: When Brady flicked an 8-yard TD pass to Gronkowski on a screen play with :37 left in the first quarter, it marked the first touchdown Brady has posted in the first quarter in his 10 Super Bowl appearances. It was also the 13th time Brady and Gronkowski hooked up for a TD in a Super Bowl. That’s a record, breaking a tie with Joe Montana and Jerry Rice, who had 12. Brady and Gronkowski extended their record to 14 with a 17-yard hook-up in the second quarter.
8. That was then: When the teams met on Nov. 29, the Chiefs stormed out to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter as Tyreek Hill torched Tampa Bay cornerback Carlton Davis for two touchdowns and 203 yards receiving. Last night, Hills had one catch for five yards in the first quarter and the Chiefs trailed, 7-3.
9. Travel plans: Planning a Super Bowl trip in the near future? Maybe to follow the Browns there? The next four Super Bowl sites: 2022, SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, CA; 2023, State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ; 2024, Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV; 2025, Mercedes Superdome, New Orleans, LA.